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Zirconium tube rod is an alloy tube shaped material made from metal zirconium and other metals. Due to the excellent nuclear and corrosion resistance of zirconium, zirconium alloy tubes and rods are often used as important nuclear materials for nuclear fuel components and internal structures in water-cooled reactors. Pure zirconium tubes and rods are mainly used to manufacture chemical equipment, as they are expensive and have limited usage. The chemical composition and usage of commonly used zirconium tube rods are shown in the table, among which zirconium tin alloy tube rods are used in large quantities.

Process characteristics

(1) Zirconium has a strong affinity for gas and begins to react with oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen at around 200, 300, and 400 ℃, respectively. The reaction is rapid at higher temperatures, so melting and heat treatment must be carried out in a vacuum furnace. When conducting thermal processing in the atmosphere, appropriate protective measures should be taken and the operating time at high temperatures should be shortened.

(2) The friction coefficient between zirconium and the mold is relatively high, making it easy to adhere to the surface of the mold; The thermal effect of plastic deformation is significant, and good lubrication conditions are required during processing.

(3) Processing specifications have a sensitive impact on the performance of products. Special attention should be paid to controlling the cold processing and heat treatment processes before the finished product to meet usage requirements.

(4) The dimensional accuracy and surface quality requirements of pipe and bar materials are very high. So, the process equipment should have good accuracy, and the design and production of molds should be advanced and reasonable.